The Official Ranger Camp of Araluen
by mystiKoE
Summary: *Republished and revised* So you want to be Ranger? Well welcome to the Official Ranger Camp of Araluen, ORCA for short. Come join us as we discover what the life of a ranger and a ranger's apprentice is like. Be careful and watch out for creatures called wakara, recurring evil overlords, weird spray paintings and general craziness. After all how bad can it get?...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. John Flanagan does.

**A/N: Hey guys! I've missed y'all. But I'm back for good. I'm pretty happy with the written stuff so far. Updates are gonna be really slow until summer. On Friday I plan to reupload the other revised chapters. Then after that new stuff will be on Saturdays. I'm not promising every week, but once summer comes I should have waaaaay more time to write.**

**thanks for hanging in there, the next for chapters will come Friday so see ya then. -Mysti**

~Assigned~

Alice stared down at her algebra homework, she was having a hard time concentrating. She had just pulled an all nighter with her best friend, and hadn't slept for two days, her four Monsters were wearing off and her algebra homework was due. 'Everyone must hate me', she thought to herself.

Alice stared up at her clock, it read one- thirty a.m. 'great, another wasted night and another D' she thought to herself as she put her incomplete homework on her desk.

As she set her homework down she saw a stack of papers on her desk. For a second she thought she had forgetten her English homework. On closer inspection she discovered it was some type of form for a place called The Official Ranger Camp of Araluen, ORCA for short.

Figuring it was some sort of joke from her younger brother, with a shrug of her shoulders Alice filled it out.

ORCA Registration Form Name:

Alice Reese Tilton

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Height: 5' 3"

Favorite color: maroon

Who is your favorite Ranger: Gilan

Do you have any experience with a bow: very little

How fast can you run a mile: 8 min

. Ever ridden a horse: no

Phobias: spiders and heights

Handicaps: none

Abilities/skills: academics come easily, and really good swimmer

Allergies: various pollens and very allergic to hay and ragweed.

I hear by agree that the The Official Ranger Camp of Araluen is allowed to use and share this information amongst themselves.

Signed: Alice Tilton Date: 13/2/14

If Alice had watched the stack of papers she had carefully set on her desk, she would have been surprised to see them take on a light glow and then disappear.

.:":. .:":. .:":.

Kat smiled to herself, the last form had been recieved, filled and returned. When the teens woke up tomorrow they would be in for a big surprise. She looked down at her list of campers one last time before giving it over to Crowley.

50 spots

1. Alice 15

2. Cameron 16

3. Mike 16

4. John 16

5. Millie 15

6. Kesly 15

7. Kai 16

8. Mira 16

9. Mels 16

10. Madison 16

11. Gwen 15

12. James 15

13. Carter 15

14. Lilly 16

15. Naomi 16

16. Aria 15

17. Tilly 15

18. Collin 15

19. Alex 16

20. Liam 16

21. Sally 15

22. Ian 15

23. Jenna 15

24. Kyle 15

25. Kevin 15

26. Linda 15

27. Paul 16

28. Keanen 16

29. Nona 15

30. Jessie 15

31. Shoji 16

32. Luke 15

33. Izzy 15

34. Hana 15

35. Nathan 15

36. Haru 15

37. Anna 15

38. Dan 14

39. Cale 15

40. George 15

41. Will 15

42. Jean 15

43. Kelly 15

44. Jeff 15

45. Joe 16

46. Noah 15

47. Mion 14

48. Sara 15

49. Chloe 15

50. Nick 16

Boys: 27

Girls: 23

.:":. .:":. .:":.

Alice rolled over onto her side, after a few more minutes she jolted up, scared that she had over slept her alarm. Still half asleep, she stumbled out of her bed and groped around for her clothes. Tripping over something, Alice landed flat on her face. Now she was truly awake.

After a few moments of confusion Alice slowly pushed herself up, for the first time taking in her surroundings.

"Where am I ?" Alice asked herself softly as she stared in confusion at her surroundings. Alice was in the middle of a clearing surrounded by trees.

With wide eyes, Alice slowly stood up pinching herself wondering if it was all a dream.

"Hello there," a gruff voice rang out behind Alice. With a start Alice spun around to see a cloaked figure face to face with her.

"H-how did you get here?" Alice stuttered in confusion, still befuddled by sleep and surprise.

"Very easily," was the sarcastic response.

"Wha- wait where am I ?" Alice asked nervously as she began to slowly regain her wits.

"You are at the Official Ranger Camp of Araluen. And I am Halt," the man said calmly, if somewhat annoyed.

At that statement Alice fainted from the surprise. Halt sighed exasperated. "Not again," he muttered darkly, as he none to gently, hoisted the limp girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. And headed off towards a tent concealed behind the trees.

.:":. .:":. .:":.

"Honest, I never signed up for such a thing. Why would I do that, I mean you guys aren't even real, for crying out loud !" Kai complained to Crowley, who sighed.

"Yes you did, we have your entry paper right here. And that's to bad if you don't want to be here, because your going be stuck here for a full two semesters," the ranger said with an air of finality.

Normally he was more patient and understanding about these kinds of things but, he had been arguing with this kid for a good twenty minutes and was quite weary of him. "You can't do that. I mean what about my parents, won't they miss me?" Kai practically pleaded.

"No one will miss you. Once you have completed the two semesters you'll be dropped back in the exact same time you left, so no one will notice. Besides, I would've thought a boy like you would be over excited at this opportunity. If I read our reports correctly you where completely engrossed with the Rangers," Crowley said hoping to finally convince the boy.

Kai finally gave in and nodded his head in submission, and with a glum and beaten expression, he left Crowley. Crowley just shook his head, the kid was just surprised and probably in denial just like the rest of the teens.

As Halt entered still carrying an unconcious Alice like a sack of potatoes, he passed Kai and noted the glum expression.

"What's up with him?" Halt asked in a slightly weary and knowing tone.

"That boy refused to except that this is all real. He was quite stubborn and upset. What's wrong with that one?" Crowley asked, jerking his head towards the limp form of Alice as Halt unceremoniously dumped her on the ground.

"She passed out on hearing where she was," Halt said.

"She's certainly not the first," Crowley noted.

At that moment Will stepped in . Will glanced at Alice's limp form with a look of slight amusement.

" Is she the last camper we're expecting?" Will asked.

"Yes," Halt replied.

"So, all of our campers have arrived," Will said in a satisfied voice with a hint of amusement in it.

"Gilan will be helping you of course. And he said you'll also have guest speakers." Crowley said thoughtfully as he went through some papers.

"I'm not sure if I pity my campers, or your campers more," Halt said in a joking voice, with a hint of a smile. Will snorted in amusement.

"I pity your campers more, they have mean, old, grim Halt," Will shot back.

Crowley watched Master and apprentice in amusement. Yes, Will was a full fledged Ranger now, but Halt and Will had always shared an extra special bond.

All of them were brought back to the present by Alice sitting up as she began to regain consciousness. As she groggily tried to stand up she managed hit her head on Crowley's temporary desk.

"Ow," Alice moaned,"my head hurts," Halt sighed in exasperation as he was brought back to the frustrating task of dealing with arriving campers.

"Of course your head hurts, you hit it on the blinking desk!" Halt blew up at her.

Will cleared his throat and looked down at Alice, and decided to take things into his own hands, and save Alice Halt's irritation. Though Will had to admit that Halt did have a lot going on and the shell shocked arrivals weren't helping, this was just a bad morning to get in Halt's way.

"Welcome to the Official Ranger Camp of Araluen, also known as ORCA. I am Will, I am going to be one of your main teachers along with Gilan and Crowley. This is Halt, who is going to be your main instructor in Basic Ranger Bootcamp. Any questions?" Will asked in a well practiced, professional tone of voice.

Alice stared at them with her mouth hanging open, after a few seconds she managed to close her mouth.

"Are you guys real? Or is this some big prank or something," Alice said eyeing them all warily. Crowley sighed wearily.

"Of course we're all real. And no this is not a prank," he stated firmly.

"I think," said Will, trying to relieve the tension," you should go down to the main tent and get your supplies and gear. There everything should be explained," Will said in a gentler tone. Not shure what else to do Alice nodded and followed Will out. It was obvious that she was still in shock.

"Looks like we have a looooooong year a head of us," Crowley said in a weary voice. As he watched a still shell shocked Alice follow Will. Halt just grimly nodded as he folded his arms over his chest.

.:":. .:":. .:":.

As Alice left the supplies tent with ber pack of supplies and huge stack of books, she had a sinking feeling about the semester a head of her. She knew it wasn't going to be easy. Not after the way all of the instructors had been acting and treating her.

Hiking her pack over her shoulder and getting a better grip on her supplies, she looked down at an orientation sheet she had been given, today was just orientation and getting your supplies together. Tomorow was a welcoming ceremony in the great meeting tent, briefly Alice wondered what that was going to be like, as she heeded to her alloted living grounds.

A/N: hey, so I've finished re writing this, here is the new application form:

The Official Ranger Camp of Araluen Registration Form

Personal information: this is to describe what your character is like (optional)

Real name:

Title/nickname/fake name:

Age (must be between 14-17):

Gender: male

Where they live/ come from (optional, but useful for any stuff like cultural back round) :

Weapons:

Personality:

Appearance:  
- hair:  
- skin:  
- eyes:  
- height (please make this realistic):  
- other:

History (stuff that you want to affect/play out in your characters training) :

Other:

General (mandatory)

Favorite color (optional, but will be used later in the story):

Who is your favorite Ranger (optional, but may help your camp assignment):

Do you have any experience with a bow:

Experience with knives:

How fast can you run a mile:

Ability to climb:

Ever ridden a horse:

Abilities/Skills:

Phobias/Fears:

Handicaps:

Allergies:

Camp Halt, Crowley, Gilan, Will or Madelyn:

I hear by agree that the The Official Ranger Camp of Araluen is allowed to use this information amongst themselves.  
Signed:  
Date:


	2. Chapter 2

**The Official Ranger Camp of Araluen **

_(ORCA for short)_

**Disclaimer**: **John Flanagan owns the Rangers Apprentice.**

**~Chapter 2~**

Alice was fast asleep and dreaming happily when someone shook her by the shoulders trying to wake her up, when that didn't work they tried pulling her covers back.

"Go away Seth," Alice mumbled sleepily, swatting the persons hand away. After a few minutes the person seemed to give up. Alice snuggled back down under her blanket.

A few minutes later Alice felt a sudden splash of cold water on her face. Startled, Alice jumped up still half asleep.

"Seth! That wasn't called for," Alice cried as she sleepily tried rub the water out of her eyes.

"I don't think I'm Seth, but it is time to get up," said a voice.

Alice looked up and then screamed in surprise, she was still half asleep.

"Who are you?" Alice shrieked backing away from the figure who still had a half filled bucket in their hands.

"Are you sure your awake?" Jenny asked looking at the startled Alice.

Alice slowly stood up regaining her wits and fully waking up.

"Um, yeah," Alice replied slowly feeling embarrassed, as she remembered yesterdays events and where she was. Jenny nodded her head and turned to Meralon.

"I'll go check on the other girls, call me if you need anything," Jenny said brightly before walking off towards the other camping areas.

All of the boys and girls had been given separate sleeping quarters. The girls had their ranger supervisors and Cassandra and Jenny, to help with the girls if the rangers were unable to handle anything.

"You better hurry, we're supposed to meet with the other campers in the main tent in ten minutes," Meralon reminded Alice, who was still standing there, sopping wet.

Alice nodded and grabbed a change of clothing before heading off. She was still sleepy, she had been up most of the night trying to get used to the idea of being in a different world where the rangers where real.

After getting over the shock and the surprise of the situation, Alice had become extremely psyched and happy. She couldn't wait to get started. After all she was finally able to meet all of her favorite characters, and become a ranger.

But things were different this morning, now all she wanted was to go back to bed and sleep some more.

With an empty stomach Alice made her way to the meeting tent.

.:":. .:":. .:":.

As Alice headed back to her camp she looked down at her list of activities:

~Ranger Bootcamp (Halt)

~Basic concealed movement (Gilan)

~Archery (Will)

~Basic horse riding (Young Bob)

~basic geography (Crowley)

~ extra activities

Alice wondered what kind of extra activities were available, seeing none were listed for the first semester and they would get new lists the second semester.

In the meeting it had been explained that they would all be split into teams of five and work together during certain projects.

Tomorrow morning they would all have an assessment day. And then they would all be split up into teams.

As Alice was walking she didn't see the figure coming to wards her, and ran straight into them. With a loud crash Alice and the other person fell with the loud crash of pots around them.

"I'm so sorry," Alice said as she stood up, and started picking up all the pots and the pans.

"Here, I can carry some back," Alice said as Jenny started re stacking all the pots and pans to carry back.

"Thanks," Jenny said with a bright and friendly smile. Both girls walked towards the mess tent with their arms full of pots and pans. Jenny glanced at Alice curiously, she was interested in her, in fact she was interested in most of the campers. They were all so young yet they all seemed to have an endless desire and thirst for adventure. Jenny herself had never felt that yearning or pull, to her the life of a ranger seemed a bit intimidating. Exciting yes, but she often wondered why they were willing to give up their peaceful lives for adventure.

"So who's Seth," Jenny asked trying to find out more about Alice's life.

"He's my younger brother," Alice replied with a smile.

"Do you get along?" Jenny asked curiously.

"Yeah, most of the time. Though sometimes his sole purpose in life seems to be to drive me crazy," Alice replied. Jenny laughed at this.

"I never had any siblings of my own, but growing up in the ward with other kids gave me a taste of that," Jenny said.

"Yeah, Will and Horace never got along but now their best buddies. Kinda like me and my younger brother, sometimes we're worst enemies and then other times we're best friends," Alice responded.

"I forget that you guys know all about us and our lives," Jenny said with a smile. Alice blushed and looked down at the pots she was carrying.

"What makes you want to be a ranger?" Jenny finally asked after a short silence. Alice frowned at the question.

"I don't really know. I guess adventure and all the things that come with the life of a ranger just seem so exciting. But honestly I don't really know why," Alice said with a thoughtful frown. Jenny nodded slowly. Both girls stopped in front of the mess tent.

"Thanks for helping me," Jenny said as she took the pots out of Alice's hands.

"No problem," Alice replied with a smile.

As Alice walked back to her camping area she thought over Jenny's question, _Why do I want to be a ranger?_ She asked herself, curious to find her answer.

.:":. .:":. .:":.

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, I didn't have reliable way to upload. Sorry this chapter was so short I had a hard time with it...**

**Thanks for reading it would be greatly appreciated if you would review. **

**If any of you guys are looking for a beta I am currently available, or if you simply need some one to give a constructive review of your story I can do that too. **

Happy writing and reading!


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